WPBT2 Delves into the Heart of Israel

A small country with limited natural resources, known for their politics, conflict and violence, has become a world leader in global science, business, medicine and technology. More impressive is their ability to share these developments with the world.

On Israel Inside, Harvard lecturer Dr. Tal Ben Shahar takes a look at how Israel's techological, economic and humanitarian achievements have contributed to Jewish values such as freedom, education, family and responsibility.

Watch interviews with Professor Alan Dershowitz, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and others as they give their point of view on Israel and its people. 

Israel Inside premieres Tuesday, November 29 at 8 p.m. on WPBT2.

 

 

 

WPBT2 and FIU Present Women, War & Peace

WPBT2 and FIU's Women's Studies Center will screen the new PBS series, Women, War & Peace on Tuesday, September 27 at 9:30am-10:30am at the Graham Center (Room 243) on FIU's Modesto Maidique Campus.

A co-production of THIRTEEN and Fork Films, Women, War & Peace challenges the conventional wisdom that war and peace are men’s domain and places women at the center of an urgent dialogue about conflict and security. Featuring narrators Matt Damon, Tilda Swinton, Geena Davis and Alfre Woodard, the series reveals that the majority of today’s conflicts are not fought by nations and their armies, but rather by gangs, insurgent groups, and warlords armed with small arms and improvised weapons.  Women have become primary targets in these conflicts and though they are suffering unprecedented casualties they are simultaneously emerging as critical partners in brokering peace and as leaders in forging new international laws governing conflict.  With depth and complexity, Women, War & Peace spotlights the stories of women in conflict zones from Bosnia to Afghanistan, and Colombia to Liberia.

The event is free and open to the public.

WPBT2 and FIU Invite You to a Free Lecture

WPBT2 and Florida International University’s Center for Humanities in an Urban Environment present The Haitian Imprint on the Humanities on Wednesday, September 14 at 7:00pm at the Green Library, Room 220 on the FIU Modesto A. Maidique Campus. 

Gepsie Metellus, executive director of Sant La, will lead the lecture.  Metellus is a well-known community leader with a deep awareness of the diversity and complexity that characterize the Haitian community and a profound sense of the range of issues challenging all South Floridians. Her talk draws on personal experience and on the rich cultural history of the Haitian community. Her insights will be particularly welcome to all interested in seeing the humanities at work at the grass roots level, and it will also give a broad sense of how the humanities touch and enrich all of us.

The event is free and open to the public.

 

 

WPBT2 Premieres Season 6 of Check, Please! on Mondays at 7:30 pm Beginning May 16th.

Check, Please! South Florida returns for its sixth season on May 16 at 7:30 p.m. on WPBT2, with a fun, new twist on the typical show concept.  The season opens with three young foodies, local first and second-graders, joining host Michelle Bernstein around the Check, Please!  table to talk about what they liked and disliked about their dining experiences.  

“I thought it would be refreshing to have three kids on the show, talking very honestly (as kids are) about their favorite restaurants,” said host and celebrity chef, Michelle Bernstein. “Kids are just so innocent and untainted by what society thinks. They speak truthfully and straight from their hearts.” 

But, don’t expect a discussion focused on pizza and burgers.  “I was very surprised at the types of restaurants these kids recommended as their favorites,” said show producer Joyce Belloise.  The fact that we can discuss menu items such as sushi, tofu, and filet mignon on a kids’ show says a lot about how our children’s tastes are evolving.”

For now, fans of the show can expect a new line-up of restaurants and guest reviewers, representing dining spots from Jupiter to Kendall, beginning with the special kids episode on May 16th.   South Floridians are encouraged to apply to be a guest reviewer on the show by logging on to the website at www.checkpleasefl.com.

EPISODE DESCRIPTIONS:

SHOW # 601- Broadcast Date: Monday, May 16, 2011

*Our Special Kids Episode!*
See what South Floridians have to say about Jaxson’s Ice Cream Parlor & Restaurant in Dania Beach; Thai Cafe in Miami Lakes; and Café Abbracci in Coral Gables.

Guest reviewers:  Demi-Nicole Bernadotte, Second-grader; Jude Rivera, Second-grader; Frankie Sanchez, First-grader    

SHOW # 602- Broadcast Date: Monday, May 23, 2011

See what South Floridians have to say about Big Bear Brewing Co. in Coral Springs;
Café Sharaku in Ft. Lauderdale; and Tin Muffin Cafe in Boca Raton.

Guest Reviewers:  Jessica Stein, Art Teacher; Yoshi Kirsch, Car Exporter; Jerry Friedman, Chiropractor
    
SHOW # 603- Broadcast Date: Monday, May 30, 2011

See what South Floridians have to say about Jaguar Ceviche Spoon Bar & Latam Grill in Coconut Grove; Secreto Restaurant in Kendall; and Buena Vista Bistro in Miami.

Guest reviewers: Manuela Menendez, Psychologist; Angel Medina, Banker; Scot Marken, Nonprofit CEO

SHOW # 604- Broadcast Date: Monday, June 6, 2011

See what South Floridians have to say about Capt. Charlie’s Reef Grill in Juno Beach, CW’s BBQ in Hobe Sound; and Havana Restaurant in West Palm Beach.

Guest reviewers: Esse Asker, Manufacturer Representative; Tom Priester, Realtor; Maurissa Jones, Lawyer
   
SHOW # 605- Broadcast Date: Monday, June 13, 2011

See what South Floridians have to say about Moca Café & Lounge in North Miami; Bash Wine Cafe in Sunrise; and Sugar Reef Grill in Hollywood.

Guest reviewers: Rose-Philippe Coriolan, Radio Station Operations Manager; Bob Feinberg, Medical Sales Manager; Richard Miller, Fundraising Consultant

WPBT2 premieres Craft in America: Messages on May 24th at 8:00 pm

Craft in America: Messages, looks at the ways many craft artists go beyond skill to personal and political expression. They use craft to tell a story, prove a point, or bring attention to issues. Often their work is passionate and provocative. The artists selected for Messages express many different interests and points of view, but they have one thing in common: their skill and creativity are of the highest level.

Wisconsin glass artist Beth Lipman explores the symbolism of 17th century still life paintings to express the fragility that exists in a world of excess. New Mexico santero Charles M. Carrillo uses authentic  materials to combine historic religious subject matter with contemporary culture. Baltimore bead artist Joyce J. Scott learned quilting and beading from her mother and draws from references as wide-ranging as Africa and comic books to focus on issues such as race and stereotyping. New Orleans jewelry artist and sculptor Thomas Mann is famous for his “Techno-Romantic” designs. He created Storm Cycle, a series of wall panels that document the untold stories in his beloved city after Hurricane Katrina.

 

WPBT2 premieres National Memorial Day Concert on May 29th at 8:00 pm.

For more than two decades, PBS has been proud to honor the service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, their families at home and all those who have given their lives for our country with the NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT. The evening, that has become an American tradition, offers viewers a time to remember, to heal and bring our country together.

The multi award-winning event, broadcast live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, will be co-hosted for the sixth year by Emmy Award-winner Gary Sinise (CSI:NEW YORK) and Tony Award-winner Joe Mantegna (CRIMINAL MINDS), two acclaimed actors who have dedicated themselves to veteran’s causes and supporting our troops in active service. Joining co-hosts Sinise and Mantegna will be an all-star line-up of dignitaries, actors and musical artists in performance with the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of top pops conductor Jack Everly. The U.S Joint Chiefs of Staff will also participate in the event along with the Armed Forces Color Guard and Service Color Teams provided by the Military District of Washington, D.C.

The 22nd annual broadcast of THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT will air live in HD before a concert audience of hundreds of thousands, millions more at home, as well as to our troops serving around the world on the American Forces Network.

 

WPBT2 premieres Secrets of the Dead: The Silver Pharaoh on May 18th at 10:00 pm

The royal tomb of Pharaoh Psusennes I is one of the most spectacular of all the ancient Egyptian treasures - even more remarkable than that of Tutankhamen. So why hasn’t the world heard about it? What mysteries does it contain? And what does it reveal about ancient Egypt? The tomb was discovered filled with lavish jewels and treasure almost by accident in 1939 by the French archaeologist Pierre Montet while he was excavating in northern Egypt. The royal burial chamber came as a complete surprise, no Egyptologist had anticipated a tomb  of such grandeur in this area. Unfortunately, the tomb was found on  the eve of World War II in Europe and attracted little attention. One of the most startling discoveries inside the tomb was the sarcophagus in which the body was held: It was made of silver with exquisite detail and craftsmanship. No other silver sarcophagus has ever been found  and it is now recognized by many Egyptologists as one of the most exquisite artifacts of ancient Egypt ever to be found. The elaborate tribute within the tomb suggested it was the burial site of someone very important but as archaeologists, using the hieroglyphs inside the tomb, pieced together the identity of the pharaoh, they were left to wonder who Psuesennes I was and why he received such grand treatment. The investigation reveals political intrigue, a lost city and a leader who united a country in turmoil and became the Silver Pharaoh.

WPBT2 premieres American Experience: Freedom Riders on May 16th at 9:00 pm.

In 1961, segregation seemed to have an overwhelming grip on American society. Many states violently enforced the policy, while the federal government, under the Kennedy administration, remained indifferent, preoccupied with matters abroad. That is, until an integrated band of college students, many of whom were the first in their  families to attend a university, decided, en masse, to risk everything and buy a ticket on a Greyhound bus bound for the Deep South. They called themselves the Freedom Riders, and they managed to bring the president and the entire American public face to face with the challenge of correcting civil-rights inequities that plagued the nation.

These Freedom Riders experienced many trials and tribulations along the road. At many bus stops there would be gangs of people waiting there to beat them up or harass them Through their no violent protest the Freedom Riders were finally able to get the attention the Civil Rights Movement needed. The film goes into details as the Freedom Riders make their stops along the road to the Deep South. Witness the different ambushes the Riders faced and the jail time they received. The most uplifting part is when more and more people joined the Ride. It was a time when Americans began to realize that every man was equal, no matter what color they were.

WPBT2 premieres Independent Lens: A Film Unfinished on Tuesday May 3rd at 11:00 pm.

This haunting film about a film examines a classic Nazi propaganda film used by historians for decades to provide insight into the realities of life in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1942. The recent discovery of a second reel in an East German archive has thrown the  veracity and intent of the Ghetto footage into question. It becomes clear as film and war  historians examine the outtakes reel that Nazi propagandists and the SA had staged elaborate scenes to mislead the general public about what was really happening in Warsaw.

WPBT2 premieres American Experience: Road to Memphis on May 2nd at 10:00 pm.

"We were never concerned with who killed Martin Luther King, but what killed Martin Luther King," says former King aide Andrew Young in this film, which tells the wildly disparate yet fatefully entwined stories of an assassin, James Earl Ray, and his target, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., against the backdrop of the seething and turbulent forces in American society that led these two men to their violent and tragic collision in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. Based on the book by Hampton Sides (Ghost Soldiers), the program relies on eyewitness testimony from King's inner circle and the officials involved in Ray's capture and prosecution following an intense two-month international manhunt.